Faced with inflation and the difficulties of Greek households, the government voted for a law forcing each supermarket to have at least one product at a privileged price in each category of food.
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“Citizens go to the stalls [of supermarkets], see the prices that increase (…) and they say to themselves that it is theft. It is understandable as this inflation is sudden and continuous”, , on the Radio Skai channel, the Minister of Development and Investment, Adonis Georgiadis. Faced with creeping inflation which reached 12.1 % – one of the highest in the European Union according to Eurostat -, the Greek conservative government decided to launch, from November 2, a “basket” allowing everyone Households to find a product in 31 categories (bread, milk, pasta, rice, meat, etc.) at a privileged price in supermarkets which generate more than 90 million euros in turnover per year.
All channels, in agreement with the ministry, must therefore highlight a product for each category at a low price and advertise it on the Internet or on advertising brochures. Those who do not in time risk a fine of 5,000 euros per day of delay. This measure, which comes into force on November 2, must last at least until the end of March according to the Ministry of Development and Investment, knowing that the list of products may be updated as measurement.
According to a study by Nielseniq, Greek households paid, on the first nine months of 2022, in the country’s supermarkets, around 320 million euros more than at the same time last year, everything By buying fewer products ( – 1.8 %). The Realnews newspaper has identified the waltz of labels in 27 categories: beef increased by 33 %in one year, milk, by 25 %, and olive oil, by 26 %.
Emergency subsidy
But it is especially in the energy field that the increases were the most spectacular: the prices of the gas quadrupled in one year (+ 332 %), and those of electricity flew by 30 %. While winter is approaching, many Greeks fear that they cannot heat up properly. According to a recent survey of the Marc Institute, the greatest concern of the Greek population is the increase in the cost of living (at 84.5 %) far ahead of tensions with Turkey (44 %).
Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis announced in September the release of an envelope of 5.5 billion euros with exceptional assistance of 250 euros for the lowest income, housing aid for students, as well as An emergency subsidy for farmers. The Ministry of Energy has also set up allowances to reduce electricity bills: for a consumption of around 500 kWh per month, for example, the aid is 238 euros. But, for 51 % of those questioned by the Pulse survey institute, this aid is not sufficient.
For the main opposition party, Syriza (radical left), “this measure of the household basket is a mockery, a government communication game”. Syriza would like the value added tax (VAT) to foodstuffs (13 %) to be reduced, as are fuel taxes, to relieve households. “It is a false idea to think that, by reducing VAT, inflation will disappear,” retorts Adonis Giorgiadis.